Geneva

On Saturday, my family and I went to Geneva, Switzerland. We headed to Gare Part-Dieu first thing in the morning, unfortunately having to wait a little longer than expected to board our train, as there was a delay. After two hours, we arrived in Switzerland!

The weather was springlike as we waited for our first tour guide, Claudia, by the train station. When she arrived, we walked toward Lake Geneva, or Lac Léman in French. Near the lake, we saw the Brunswick Monument, a mausoleum in honor of Charles II, Duke of Brunswick, who donated much of his wealth to Geneva upon his death. Then we took a boat across the glacial lake--with the Alps and the Mont Blanc visible along the way--and saw the city's famous water jet (le jet d'eau). The water shoots 140 meters into the sky, showering tourists with rainbow mist. The jet was originally a way of letting pressure out of the hydroelectric plant overnight, but now it's entirely a tourist attraction. In the gardens beside the lake, we saw L'Horloge Fleurie, or the flower clock, which is made of new flowers every three months. We continued on to the cathedral, now a Protestant church, on top of the hill in the old quarter of the city.

For lunch, we tried cheese fondue. Then, we embarked on the best part of the day, the chocolate tour! We learned about the different kinds of cacao beans and methods of making chocolate (if it has palm oil in it instead of cacao butter, the quality isn't as good), in addition to the history of chocolate, while drinking delicious, thick hot chocolate and sampling a variety of interesting chocolate confections. My favorite was a jasmine truffle, and a lime chocolate was a crowd favorite.